Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 minutes takes stock for you every evening at 7:30 p.m. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the battles, here are the main points of the day.
The fact of the day
A trial for “high treason” has just opened in Berlin. That of Carsten L., 53, an agent of the German intelligence services (BND), suspected of spying for Russia, and his alleged accomplice, Arthur E., a 32-year-old independent entrepreneur. This appearance was described by the German weekly Der Spiegel “largest espionage trial” in the country in decades.
The two accused allegedly transmitted to the Russian security services (FSB), twice in the fall of 2022, almost eight months after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, documents and information classified as secret, according to the ‘indictment. German agent Carsten L. printed or photographed confidential documents in the BND database to communicate them to Arthur E., who in turn forwarded them to the FSB in Moscow. Contacts between FSB agents and Arthur E. had been established through a Russian entrepreneur.
The latter, who is the subject of a separate investigation, “organized the meetings” and “booked and paid for Arthur E. flights between Moscow and Germany”. For their services, Carsten L. and Arthur E. were paid by the FSB to the tune of “at least 450,000 euros” for the first and “at least 400,000 euros” for the second. Arthur E. went to collect these sums in cash in Moscow in November 2022 and when he returned to Germany, Carsten L. ensured that he “smuggled through security checks at the airport, under the pretext of motives professionals”.
According to the court schedule, which has scheduled 51 hearings, the verdict is not expected before mid-July. “It will certainly be a long procedure,” said the court spokeswoman.
Sentence of the day
[L’Union européenne doit être] at the rendezvous of full and lasting support for Ukraine. »
On the eve of an EU summit in Brussels, Emmanuel Macron reiterated his call to support Ukraine. Welcoming Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob to Paris this Wednesday, the French president told the press that their two countries were “determined to support Ukraine for as long as necessary in military, economic, humanitarian and diplomatic matters, because our collective security and respect for the international order based on law and our common values are at stake.” In Macron’s sights, Hungary, which threatens to block key decisions for kyiv which are on the menu for a European summit on Thursday and Friday: the opening of EU accession negotiations and the approval of a European aid of 50 billion euros – in the form of donations and loans – for this country.
The number of the day
53. This is the number of wounded in a Russian night attack on kyiv. The anti-aircraft defense shot down the ten ballistic missiles launched around 3 a.m. on kyiv but the debris fell on inhabited areas, including a pediatric hospital. No deaths have been reported and the hospital center continues to operate. On the other hand, 53 people were injured across the city, 20 of whom were hospitalized, including two children, according to the Ministry of Health. It had been months since kyiv had recorded such a record.
Today’s trend
Volodymyr Zelensky continues his tour to demand help from his Western allies. After the United States, the Ukrainian president was in Oslo this Wednesday. “Of course, we cannot win without help,” Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference, after a meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
In the United States as well as within the European Union, the payment of tens of billions of dollars for the benefit of Ukraine is currently hampered by internal divisions. “What Europe can do is do the same thing […] than what the Nordic countries are doing,” Zelensky emphasized. Since the start of the war in February 2022, the Nordic countries claim to have devoted a total of around 11 billion euros to supporting Ukraine. Norway, for example, agreed at the start of the year multi-year aid to Ukraine, civil and military, of 6.8 billion euros over the period 2023-2027.